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What Does Ghost Bike Mean? – Meaning, Uses and More

ghost ride the bike meaning

What Does Ghost Bike Mean?

The term ghost bike refers to a white-painted bicycle that is placed on the side of the road at the location of a collision between a bicycle and a motor vehicle. These bikes serve as memorials for cyclists who have been killed in accidents. They also serve as a reminder to drivers to be cautious and mindful of cyclists on the road. The first ghost bikes appeared in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003 after a cyclist was struck by an SUV. Inspired by this incident, Patrick Van Der Tuin placed a ghost bike at the crash site and continued to place more throughout the city. Ghost bikes have since spread to other major cities and are used to honor and remember cyclists who have tragically lost their lives. Unfortunately, ghost bikes themselves are often hit by inattentive drivers, highlighting the dangers that cyclists face on the road. Here are some examples of how to use the term ghost bike in conversation:

  • “Did you see the ghost bike they installed on Main Street? It’s a powerful reminder of the importance of bike safety.”
  • “I heard they’re organizing a memorial ride with ghost bikes to honor the cyclists who have been killed in our city.”
  • “The ghost bike at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Elm Street is a solemn reminder of the risks cyclists face on our roads.”
  • “I read a news article about a local artist who creates beautiful sculptures using old ghost bikes.”
  • “The ghost bike movement has gained momentum in recent years as more people become aware of the dangers faced by cyclists.”

The term ghost bike does not have any sexual connotations and is not a typo or error. It is a meaningful and poignant term used to remember and honor cyclists who have tragically lost their lives.

What Does Ghost Bike Mean From a Girl?

When a girl uses the term ghost bike , she is most likely referring to the actual meaning of it, which is a white-painted bicycle placed on the side of the road as a memorial for a cyclist who was killed in an accident. Girls use the term ghost bike in the same way as everyone else, to acknowledge and remember the tragic loss of a cyclist’s life.

Here are some key points to consider:

  • Specific meaning from a girl : Girls use the term ghost bike to refer to the memorialization of cyclists who have been killed in accidents. It is a way for them to show respect and honor for those who have tragically lost their lives.
  • How girls use it : Girls may use ghost bike in conversations with their friends, on social media, or when discussing bike safety and awareness.
  • How to reply : If someone mentions ghost bike in a conversation with you, it is appropriate to show empathy and understanding. You can express your condolences or discuss the importance of bike safety.

It is important to note that ghost bike does not have any alternative meanings or slang usage from a girl. It is a serious and meaningful term that is used universally to remember and honor cyclists who have lost their lives.

What Does Ghost Bike Mean From a Guy?

When a guy uses the term ghost bike , it typically carries the same meaning as when a girl uses it. Guys use ghost bike to refer to the white-painted bicycles placed on the side of the road as memorials for cyclists who have been killed in accidents. It is a way for them to acknowledge and pay tribute to the tragic loss of a cyclist’s life.

  • Specific meaning from a guy : Guys use the term ghost bike in the same way as everyone else, to remember and honor cyclists who have tragically lost their lives.
  • How guys use it : Guys may use ghost bike in conversations with their friends, on social media, or when discussing bike safety and awareness.
  • How to reply : If a guy mentions ghost bike in a conversation with you, it is appropriate to show empathy and understanding. You can express your condolences or discuss the importance of bike safety.

In general, guys and girls use ghost bike similarly, as a way to remember and honor cyclists who have tragically lost their lives. The term does not have any alternative meanings or slang usage specific to guys. It is a serious and meaningful term that is used universally to pay tribute to those who have passed away in cycling accidents.

  • Guy 1: Dude, did you see that ghost bike on Main Street?
  • Guy 2: Yeah, it’s a powerful reminder of the importance of bike safety. We need to be more cautious on the road.
  • Guy 1: I heard they’re organizing a memorial ride with ghost bikes.
  • Guy 2: That’s awesome! It’s a great way to honor the cyclists who have tragically lost their lives.
  • Guy 1: Check out the ghost bike at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Elm Street.
  • Guy 2: It’s a solemn reminder of the risks cyclists face on our roads. We need to be more mindful and respectful.
  • Guy 1: I read an article about an artist who creates sculptures using old ghost bikes.
  • Guy 2: That’s really cool! It’s a unique way to repurpose those bikes and create meaningful art.
  • Guy: The ghost bike movement has gained momentum in recent years.
  • Girl: Yeah, more people are becoming aware of the dangers faced by cyclists. It’s important to spread awareness and promote bike safety.

Origin of Ghost Bike

The term “ghost bike” refers to a white-painted bicycle that is placed on the side of the road at the location of a collision between a bicycle and a motor vehicle. These bikes serve as memorials for cyclists who have been killed in accidents and also as a reminder to drivers to be cautious of cyclists on the road. The first ghost bikes appeared in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003 after a cyclist was struck by an SUV. Inspired by this incident, Patrick Van Der Tuin placed a ghost bike at the crash site and continued to place more throughout the city. Ghost bikes have since spread to other major cities and are used to honor and remember cyclists who have tragically lost their lives. The term “ghost bike” does not appear to be a typo or derived from another word or phrase.

Frequently Asked Questions

Slangs similar to ghost bike.

Memorial bike, remembrance bike, warning bike, tribute bike, and memorialize bike are all similar to ghost bike because they are all bikes used as memorials for cyclists who have been killed in accidents. These bikes serve as reminders to be cautious and mindful of cyclists on the road and are used to honor and remember those who have tragically lost their lives.

Is Ghost Bike A Bad Word?

No, “ghost bike” is not a bad word or vulgar word. It refers to a white roadside memorial bicycle that is placed at the site of a bike vs. motor vehicle crash to memorialize the cyclist who was killed in the crash. It is a way to remember and honor the person who lost their life and to raise awareness about road safety for cyclists.

Is Ghost Bike a Typo or Misspelling?

No, “ghost bike” is not a misspelling or a typo. It is a term used to refer to a white-painted bicycle that is placed on the side of the road as a memorial for cyclists who have been killed in accidents.

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The story of “ghost bikes”: How a bike memorial in St. Louis sparked a global movement

These white-painted bicycles show up in cities and towns all over the world. here's where they came from, and what they mean..

You’ve probably seen a ghost bike. Maybe its skeletal white frame, locked to a street sign on a busy corner, blended into the madness of a hustling urban backdrop. Or perhaps the makeshift memorial emanated its phantomly presence chained to a single lamppost along a lonely country highway. No matter the location, ghost bikes turn an indiscriminate patch of road into a solemn reminder: A cyclist was killed here.

These bikes represent a sobering reality. From 2000 to 2013, rates of commuting via bike have increased more than 100 percent in some parts of the country. Fatalities and injuries have increased, too. In 2013, roughly 48,000 cyclists were injured. More than 740 were killed in crashes with motor vehicles . And that’s just accidents reported to the police. Biking, be it in a metropolis or a whistle stop, can be a continuous flirtation with death if you’re not careful. Cities aren’t off the hook when it comes to making streets co-habitable for both bikes and vehicles. Ghost bikes remind city planners as well as cyclists and drivers that simple mistakes can result in dire consequences.

For those who haven’t seen one: A ghost bike is a memorial for a bicyclist who was either killed or seriously hit while riding. The bike is typically put up at or near the site of the accident.  Making a ghost bike is pretty simple . Many are resurrected from old junk bikes and stripped of any parts that could be stolen, like cables or breaks. Each memorial is painted white and locked to a street sign at the site of the accident. Ghost bikes often become shrines of sorts, adorned with flowers, votive candles, or other mementos from loved ones or fellow cyclists in tribute.

The very first ghost bike was erected in St. Louis around 2003. According to ghostbikes.org,  in 2012 there were thought to be over 630 ghost bikes in more than 200 locations throughout the world, from the Texas Panhandle of Amarillo, Texas, to Minsk, Belarus, in Eastern Europe.

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To illustrate how, and just how far, ghost bikes have spread, we talked to some of the major players who helped the movement go viral, and to others with personal accounts of bike accidents or urban cycling experiences. We also crowdsourced photographs of ghost bikes from our Grist readers. The stories (edited and condensed), as well as images from around the world, are below.

St. Louis

In 2003, when Patrick Van Der Tuin was in his mid-20s, he saw a car drift into a bike lane and hit a female cyclist from behind. Her injuries were minor, but the incident stuck with him. The accident was about a block from his home, some place he rode his own bike daily. So he got his hands on a bunch of junk bikes, painted them white, and started combing police reports for locations of bike accidents and fatalities. Originally titled ‘Broken Bikes, Broken Lives,’ Van Der Tuin’s call for cycling reform across St. Louis sparked the ghost-bike movement. Now 36, he serves as executive director of St. Louis BWorks, a nonprofit that provides free bikes to kids in exchange for learning about bicycle safety and maintenance.

Patrick Van Der Tuin

It could have been any color, but white was more powerful. The first [ghost bike] didn’t last 24 hours; it was taken down.

It’s become more acceptable, so we do have a couple that have been up for pushing two years, three years at this point. The families maintain them, which I think is incredible. They were never designed or intended to become permanent memorials, but that’s what those families have turned them into.

The disappointing thing for me was it never became a real tool in St. Louis. Unfortunately, in the last year and a half or so, we have had a horrible rash of fatalities in and around St. Louis. [Ghost bikes] are picking up again.

I don’t think anyone does something like this with the intention of it becoming a model that is repeated and taken around the world on such a grassroots level. I think that’s pretty amazing. I was up in Michigan and I was in what I thought was a very rural area, not anywhere near anything, just camping. I’m driving down the road at 50 miles an hour, this little two-lane road, and my wife is like, ‘Did we just pass …?’ In the middle of nowhere, there’s a ghost bike. I went to New York for a conference and got off the subway, and there’s a ghost bike.

I have a Google Alert set up for ghost bikes, and I will literally every morning read of a different city and read about some individual and some horrific accident. I read about accidents that don’t get ghost bikes all the time, too, but the hope is that the families are getting something out of it. I don’t know whether it’s a memorial or a finger to the municipality that doesn’t want to prosecute the driver, but I hope it’s giving them some voice.

Ghost bikes

Broken Lives, Broken Bikes began in St. Louis, but the term ‘ghost bike’ was actually coined in Pittsburgh. Eric Boerer was part of the small group of people who picked up the movement from St. Louis, got it on its feet in Pittsburgh, and kept the momentum running to New York City. Boerer was running a community bike cooperative called Free Ride at the time. He and his crew registered the domain ghostbikes.org and started placing white, beat-up bikes at intersections and street corners with known fatalities and injuries, mostly accidents their friends had been in. According to Boerer, bike lanes were few and far between at the time; no new lanes were installed between 1982 and 2007. Since then, Pittsburgh has been named one of America’s most bike-friendly cities , and the city is actively installing a system of new protected bike lanes. Boerer had just been hit by a car on his own bike when he started erecting ghost bikes around Pittsburgh back in the early 2000s.

Eric Boerer

My leg was broken pretty horribly. Someone brought up this thing that was going on in St. Louis called ‘Broken Bikes, Broken Lives.’

We had a meeting around a picnic table, basically drinking beers and trying to brainstorm ideas on this project. Someone mentioned ‘ghost bikes,’ because of the connotation that the bikes are gone and they’re ghosts of bikes. Part of it also was that we kind of thought people saw through us, almost looked at us as ghosts on the streets, like they didn’t really pay attention to us. We were almost invisible in a way.

I was just going straight and a guy made a left turn into me. He was in a minivan and he hit me from the side. His bumper broke my leg in half. My lower leg. I rolled up on the hood, smashed his windshield with my body, and slid down. I was in a cast for about four or five months. I had two surgeries, a titanium nail put in to keep my leg straight. I couldn’t wait [to get back on a bike again]. I love cycling. It’s a thing that connects me to my city more than anything.

I remembered feeling pretty excited to put up [a ghost bike] in the spot I was hit, partly in the hopes that the person who hit me drives past it daily and would see it. Part of it was just in the hopes that the city would notice and would do something about the state of cycling in the city. I remembered feeling very determined to be the one to put that bike out and be the one to lock it, carry it out there, and just look at and be like, ‘Goddamn this person for messing up my year and messing up my life.’

This was sort of pre-crazy internet, you know, it was like 2003, so it was a wild moment for a lot of us to see something go viral before there was a term called ‘going viral.’

I’ve personally seen ghost bikes. I saw them in Mexico City. I saw them in Santiago, Chile. It’s kind of amazing to even see that in person around the world. I’m sure just about every big city in the world has one at this point, at least one.

You see how important they are to their family members, who may not have ridden bikes, may not have cared about bikes, but they knew cycling was really important to their family member. Now it’s important to them, too.

Ghost bikes

North Carolina

Aimée Argote was driving home from a concert the night of Sept. 19, 2013 with her partner, Taylor. They were near Chapel Hill, N.C., on a well-traveled, four-lane highway divided by a median that connects Durham, Chapel Hill, and Pittsboro. The speed limit wasn’t much higher than 45 or 50 miles an hour. The weather was clear. Suddenly, they came across two lumps in the road. It was Alexandria Nicole Simou and Ivin Levander Scurlock , two victims of a hit-and-run. Scurlock died on the scene, while Simou later died at the hospital. For a while, Argote, a touring musician, couldn’t drive at night. In the two years since the accident, she’s barely ridden her bike. The ghost bikes she helped erect for Simou and Scurlock have since been taken down, and the case regarding their accident still hasn’t been solved.

Aimée Argote

I just thought garbage bags had flown out of the back of a truck. But then we saw these two bicycles in the middle of the road.

It was hard to recognize that he was dead because he was so warm and we [were] checking for breaths and stuff. There was somebody else right next to him who was clearly alive. She was unconscious and in a big pool of blood and just wheezing out blood. I was just hugging her and asking her to stay with us.

Their bikes were smashed together so tightly that it looked like one bike.

The first cop showed up and started freaking out, waving her flashlight around. It was pretty obvious that she had never seen a dead body before. One of the policemen, this was one of the most bizarre parts about it, came up and said, ‘I’m sorry, but I have to inspect your car.’ It was the most frightening thing. He had to make sure it wasn’t us that had hit them.

They were wearing bike lights and they were wearing safety vests. Their bikes were smashed together so tightly that it looked like one bike.

Taylor and I both realized that the best way to honor them was to remember them with warmth and love and not fear. And to become a better driver and figure out what it means to be a better driver. So many times in the van, [I see] somebody is driving and they’re texting. I had texted and driven before and I was just like, ‘Never again.’

My friend Jason runs a bike shop and he was actually the person who suggested the ghost bikes. He has a bunch of old bikes and so he got the bikes ready. They took the bikes down after, like, three or four months. The year following, we organized a ride that started at [Jason’s] bike shop, and we rode down to the spot with two new ghost bikes and just encouraged people to bring flowers or Mardi Gras beads or anything colorful to decorate the bikes with. Then they took the bikes down again.

We pretend like cycling is a privilege for people who want to put on racing shorts and buy $3,000 bikes. I think it’s an important reminder to the city: What are you spending your tax dollars on? Can you please spend it on protecting people who are just trying to get home, just trying to get to their kids, just trying to get to work? Before the accident, when I would pass a ghost bike, I would just take a moment to become more present in my vehicle. I always passed it and thought, ‘Oh, somebody died there.’ It was a fleeting thought sometimes, but I always had that thought. Now that I’ve been a part of an accident, I pass them and I think, ‘Thank God, I’m not the only one who remembers.’

Ghost bikes

Scott Kubly had been on the job as director of Seattle’s Department of Transportation for roughly a month before a cyclist was killed in a notoriously dangerous bike lane. Sher Kung, a 31-year-old attorney and mother, was riding down Second Avenue in the heart of downtown Seattle last August — a stretch once described by a Rutgers University bicycling scholar as “death-defying” — when she was hit by a left-turning box truck. Her death took place less than two weeks before a new protected bike lane was expected to be completed. Over the next five years, Seattle hopes to install more than 35 miles of protected bike lanes, and eliminate fatal and serious collisions within the next 15 years — all part of the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan . But one of the city’s biggest challenges overall is the antagonistic attitude between drivers and cyclists, says Kubly. A ghost bike was erected in Kung’s honor at the site of her accident.

Scott Kubly

I think that for whatever reason there is an antagonism between bicyclists and non-bicyclists in this city that is probably stronger than in any other city that I’ve been in. It’s really actually shocking. It’s a real angry kind of dialogue. We’re coming out of what, locally, people call ‘the mode wars,’ where people of different modes [of transportation] were kind of fighting amongst each other and not really recognizing that we actually live in a multi-modal city where all the things need to work well together.

The riders I see here in Seattle are really different than riders I’ve seen in other cities. I think they ride more aggressively here than in other cities, I really do. If you go to D.C. or Chicago, where the bike-commuting culture and the bike-riding culture is a much calmer riding culture, you see a lot fewer people in spandex and a lot more people in regular street clothes.

People who don’t like bikers are going to say, ‘Look at how obnoxious that biker was,’ and people who ride bikes and get frustrated by cars are going to say, ‘Look at how obnoxious that driver was.’ It’s so funny because Seattleites are so nice in so many other ways. I truly can’t figure it out.

Whenever we have a traffic fatality, I’m aware of it, and we’re doing everything we can to minimize them. When I get a traffic crash report across my desk that shows that somebody died, personally, as a DOT [department of transportation] director, and I’m not saying every DOT director is this way, but I don’t need a ghost bike to let me know that doing work to improve safety is critical. I think where they probably serve a purpose is a reminder to the general public that somebody died unnecessarily.

Sadly, I would say [of the cyclist fatality on Second Avenue in Seattle] that it’s not the first time something like that has happened. And it’s not going to be the last.

When I was in Chicago, we had two crashes that were really similar in circumstance. There was a person who was riding their bike down Wells Street [and] they were traveling in the door zone . A car door swung open, so they swung out of the door zone to avoid getting doored. They happened to get caught up under a truck and they died. It was a matter of weeks before the street was [going to be] repaved and we were putting in a buffered bike lane, which would have had a buffer in the door zone, but not for a couple weeks.  There was a kid named Bobby Cann, who worked for Groupon, I believe, and he was riding down Clybourn Avenue in Chicago . We had been as a city DOT going back and forth without getting permission to put a protected bike lane on Clybourn Avenue. This is three years ago, four years ago at this point, but it’s finally going in right now. This kid gets hit by a drunk driver and it severs his leg, and he dies right there on Clybourn Avenue. If the protected bike lane had been there, he would have been alive.

Ghost bikes

The urban biking movement is slowly reversing the last 50 or 60 years of automobile culture, says Doug Gordon — the blogger and biker activist behind Brooklyn Spoke . Ghost bikes, part of that movement, draw much needed attention to serious problems like road rage, poor street design, and lags in transportation infrastructure. But ghost bikes aren’t the only — or most effective — PSA to promote bike safety. In fact, Gordon says they could inflate how dangerous biking really is.

Doug Gordon

I recognize how important and how impactful a ghost bike can be. I think if a person dies, it’s understandable to want something tangible, something concrete at the site where they were killed.

They also can do a really great job in drawing attention to a pretty serious problem, which is the deficiency of design on our streets, road rage, poor driving choices, whatever it is. I think they can be really good at grabbing the attention of an elected official. No one would want the distinction of having the most ghost bikes in their district.

My fear of ghost bikes, sometimes, is that they can make bicycling seem more dangerous than it is. The statistics probably don’t spell out that fear as being completely reasonable , but when you put [a ghost bike] there in front of people, it does run the potential of scaring people off from biking and choosing biking. They’re not necessarily the best tools for talking to people who don’t already consider themselves cyclists or who don’t already ride a bike on a regular basis.

I don’t think there’s any kind of prescriptive like, ‘Here’s what you can do to promote biking, or to convince people that it’s safe.’ There’s no sort of prescriptive measure you can take to do that.

For some people, getting involved with a ghost-bike project is their entry into more general bike activism, and in that regard then the ghost-bike project really is serving a fantastic purpose, it’s energizing them and getting them more involved. I don’t know a single person who is involved with a ghost-bike project who sees spray painting a bike white, putting it up with some flowers, and holding a ceremony as the start and end of their bike advocacy.

It used to be that the ‘bike people’ were seen as fringe. Maybe you had a buddy who went to Amsterdam and told you how great it was, or someone moved here from Long Beach or Davis, Calif., which have been really good bike communities for a long time, and told you, ‘Oh, there’s a better way.’ I think with the rise of social media, Facebook, Twitter, we’re able to share best practices from around the world and say, ‘See? This is how it works over there. Why can’t it work here?’

I have a very low threshold for risk. I have two kids and I ride with them, too. With biking, I know the statistics and I know I’m pretty safe overall. I also know generally which streets on my commute to work, for example, are best to avoid. I’m not saying I never run red lights, but I’m certainly not going to do it at a huge intersection where there are tons of cars and lots of people crossing. I also ride a big clunky Dutch bike, probably heavier than a city bike, so I’m not racing through the streets on my fixie or a racing bike. I’m always traveling at a predictable speed. Sometimes, I probably feel more exposed in New York City when I’m crossing in the crosswalk. I’m more afraid that a driver is going to speed around the corner and hit me as a pedestrian than I am riding my bike.

Ghost bikes

According to Jeff Mapes, bicycling is an indicator when it comes to judging the health of a city. Mapes, a senior political reporter for The Oregonian, is also the author of Pedaling Revolution , in which he chronicles how biking is creating a “new society on the streets.” He lives in Portland, one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country. Approximately 6 percent of the city’s commuters bike to work — about 17,000 people — which is the highest percentage of bike commuters in any large city across the country . A longtime bike commuter, Mapes says there are tons of bike safety campaigns throughout the U.S., but perhaps nothing as impactful as a ghost bike.

I think [biking] has contributed to cities becoming lifestyle places. It’s a sort of chicken-and-egg kind of thing. I think the bike movement is both a cause of that, and also a result of that. One reason people want to move downtown is because it’s more doable and more interesting to bike, and that in turn puts pressure on cities to be more bike-friendly. You’re seeing a virtuous cycle in many ways.

I think bicycling is in someway an indicator species almost for the health of the city.

There is some added risk to cycling than most other modes of transportation , I think. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. In the Netherlands, they’ve really concentrated hard on bike safety and almost nobody wears a helmet there and they have very positive safety records. So clearly it goes way beyond encouraging helmet use.

I’m 60 now, and I have to say, there’s a lot of 20-somethings who go flying by me and I think, “Man, they feel like they’re immortal.” I do ride more cautiously.

Everybody has drivers training, very few people have cyclist training.

In my experience, when you’re in a bike lane next to vehicles that are going much slower than you, you’ve got to really watch it because you’re in danger of right hooks . I once saw a guy get his collarbone broken. He was flying down a bike lane and a car saw an opening in the traffic and stepped on it, and he just came flying through and smashed right into the cyclist.

Nobody really teaches you how to ride a bike in city traffic; you just learn how to do it. One thing I learned researching the book that I was very interested in, is that there are smart ways to ride in city traffic, but nobody teaches it to you. At least when you’re in high school, you take driver’s ed to get a license. Everybody has driver’s training, very few people have cyclist training.

There are certainly lots of safety campaigns. The Netherlands, one thing they do every year, they do a big safety campaign getting [bikers] to use their lights when the fall starts because it starts getting dark earlier. That, they say, is a huge cause of many crashes: cyclists without lights. Certainly, here in the U.S., we have the “share the road” signs and bumper stickers and posters and things like that, but they probably don’t have the visceral impact that a ghost bike does, that’s for sure.

Through the years, I think there’s been some feeling about ghost bikes portraying cycling as a dangerous activity. One could argue [they] certainly send the message to a lot of people that cycling is very dangerous.

I do think it’s sending a message that cyclists’ lives matter, so I think that’s important. I think a lot of times, for people who don’t cycle, it’s easy to say ‘Well, that won’t happen to me.’ Ghost bikes do help send the message that, ‘Yes, this does matter.’

Ghost bikes

Los Angeles

Biking, according to Adonia Lugo, is much more than just a weekend hobby, or a trendy, spandex-clad exercise fad. Lugo, an urban anthropologist currently teaching a course on urban infrastructure at Antioch University Los Angeles, studies how transportation — biking in particular — can be a transportation-justice issue. Throughout the course of her studies, Lugo has noticed that the connection between biking, race, and class isn’t as apparent to some of her fellow scholars and activists as it is to her. For them, she says, the real goal is about making sure everyone has access to greater mobility, like cars and better transportation networks. To Lugo, the issue is a bit more complicated than that.

Adonia Lugo

Within bicycle advocacy or the bike movement broadly, there is a longstanding tension between direct action and more institutional avenues for promoting bicycling. On the direct-action side, you have kind of a long history of street theater related to bicycling, like the group in New York, Time’s Up . Decades ago, they started doing street theater, trying to call attention to vulnerabilities on the street. A really good example is the ride Critical Mass , where people get together and use their bodies to actually disrupt space and say, ‘We deserve to have access to this road.’

I see ghost-bike memorials fitting into that sort of direct-action tradition in the bike movement, because they are there to serve as a reminder about the ongoing vulnerability of people who are using bicycles in that area.

A lot of people I know, myself included, who get involved in bicycle activism are motivated by a very personal experience of feeling marginalized in the streets. We’re coming at it from this very visceral, personal knowledge that we’re not necessarily safe in these car-dominated streets.

The idea of public memorials is more culturally accepted in some groups than in others. For example, I’m from a very Latino part of southern California, and it’s very common where I’m from and where I live now in L.A. to see cars that have memorials that say, ‘Rest in peace,’ and somebody’s name and their birth and death year. There are murals all over town that memorialize people, and then of course we’re all familiar with highway roadside memorials.

I see ghost bikes fitting into that genre except that what’s unusual about them is that those sorts of memorials are usually very personalized, they have to do with a family or a community that lost somebody, and ghost-bike memorials can be personalized. But they’re also trying to tap into this larger pursuit of bicyclists being more vulnerable.

I think the ghost-bike memorials probably play a greater role in giving people a common cause than they do in increasing the perception that cycling is unsafe.

Car culture creates all sorts of enmity between different car users

Something that’s not often talked about as one of the pillars of why we have suburban sprawl today was that desire to get away from social undesirables. The fact is that access to driving and being able to be inside a car is a huge status symbol.

Sometimes, I think that when people are saying [biking] is unsafe, what they mean is that it’s not very respectable. They’re also expressing a total lack of embodied knowledge. Car culture creates all sorts of enmity between different car users, so if you’re accustomed to just being in the car and seeing how recklessly some people drive, I think it makes sense that you would assume I’m safer in my car then I would be out there, unsheltered on my bicycle.

I’m mostly interested in accessing bicycle users who are very low-income or who are people of color; people who are doubly marginalized are already more vulnerable out in public space, and then they also are riding a bicycle.

When you talk about these transportation choices, you’re getting into a really complicated world of how we express our social status.

What I’ve learned through studying and participating in bicycle advocacy is that there are a lot of people out there who are not that familiar with these issues, because they themselves have not known what it’s like to not have access to a car. If you do know what it’s like not to have access to a car, it can be very embarrassing and very shameful.

Ghost bikes

Have your own ghost bike story? Share it in the comments below, or tweet it to @grist with the hashtag #gristghostbikes.

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DO YOU KNOW WHAT A “GHOST BIKE”, A “GHOST RIDE” OR A “RIDE OF SILENCE” IS?

Posted by Mike Moran | May 12, 2016 | Alternative Transportation , Education , Environment , Recreation | 0 |

DO YOU KNOW WHAT A “GHOST BIKE”, A “GHOST RIDE” OR A “RIDE OF SILENCE” IS?

The Maui Bicycle League (MBL) has organized such a ride for this Saturday (5/21/16) starting ar 9:00 AM along the bike path along the Mokulele Hwy round trip, beginning at the Target parking lot. This is NOT a KCA event, but we do support the MBL, so we offer er this information to our community. See their announcement below. 

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Answer to all Questions

How To Ghost Ride Bicycle

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How to Ghost Ride BicycleA lot of people seem to think that ghost riding is some complicated maneuver that can only be executed by experienced stunt riders. However the truth is that anyone can ghost ride – all you need is a bicycle and a little bit of practice. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it:1.

Start by riding your bicycle at a slow speed. You don’t want to be going too fast when you first start out or you may end up losing control and crashing.2. Once you’ve got a feel for the bike and are comfortable riding at a slow speed start to increase your speed gradually.3. When you’re comfortable riding at a good clip it’s time to start thinking about getting into position for the ghost ride. For this you’ll want to start slowing down and then coasting for a few seconds.4.

As you’re coasting start to stand up on the pedals. This will give you more control over the bike and will make it easier to keep your balance once you start ghost riding.5.

When you’re in the right position begin to lift your back wheel off the ground. You can do this by pedaling backwards or by using your hands to lift the wheel up.6.

Once your back wheel is off the ground start to coast forward. You may need to give the bike a little push to get it going but once it’s moving it should stay upright on its own.7.

That’s it! You’re now officially ghost riding your bicycle. Just keep your balance and enjoy the ride.8.

When you’re ready to stop simply put your back wheel back down on the ground and coast to a stop.That’s all there is to it. Ghost riding a bicycle is really not that difficult – it just takes a little bit of practice to get the hang of it.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and give it a try!

What is ghost riding a bicycle?

Table of Contents

Ghost riding is a term for riding a bicycle without the rider being on the seat.

The rider may be sitting on the handlebars standing on the pedals or frame or sitting on the ground next to the bicycle.

How do you ghost ride a bicycle?

There are several ways to ghost ride a bicycle.

Why do people ghost ride bicycles?

Some peopleghost ride bicycles for fun or as a form of daredevil stunt riding.

What are the risks of ghost riding a bicycle?

Ghost riding a bicycle can be extremely dangerous.

The rider may lose control of the bicycle and crash.

There is also a risk of the bicycle being hit by a car.

Is ghost riding a bicycle illegal?

Ghost riding a bicycle is not illegal but it is dangerous and not recommended.

What are some tips for ghost riding a bicycle safely?

Some tips for safely ghost riding a bicycle include choosing a safe location such as a park or empty parking lot.

The rider should also wear protective gear such as a helmet and pads.

How do you stop ghost riding a bicycle?

To stop ghost riding a bicycle the rider needsto get back on the seat and pedaling.

What happens if you fall off while ghost riding a bicycle?

If a rider falls off while ghost riding a bicycle they may be injured.

It is important to wear protective gear such as a helmet to help prevent injuries.

Can you ghost ride a BMX bike?

Yes you can ghost ride a BMX bike.

Can you ghost ride a mountain bike?

Yes you can ghost ride a mountain bike.

Can you ghost ride a road bike?

Yes you can ghost ride a road bike.

What is the best type of bike to ghost ride?

The best type of bike to ghost ride is a BMX bike because they are smaller and easier to control.

How long can you ghost ride a bicycle?

There is no set time limit for how long you can ghost ride a bicycle.

However it is important to be aware of your surroundings and traffic patterns.

What are some other names for ghost riding a bicycle?

Some other names for ghost riding a bicycle include wheelie riding and no-handed riding.

What is the difference between ghost riding a bicycle and riding a regular bicycle?

The main difference between ghost riding a bicycle and riding a regular bicycle is that the rider is not on the seat.

Ghost riding a bicycle is more dangerous because the rider is not in control of the bicycle.

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Where Cyclists Once Rode, Ghost Bikes Stand Vigil

Jordan Fletcher

ghost ride the bike meaning

A ghost bike memorializes an unknown cyclist killed while riding in Brooklyn, N.Y. Nellie Large for NPR hide caption

A ghost bike memorializes an unknown cyclist killed while riding in Brooklyn, N.Y.

On a muggy summer afternoon in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, a dozen people are hard at work on the patio behind a local church. They're stripping old bicycles of their brakes, cables and chains, and sanding and spray-painting them white.

But behind the lighthearted chatter, there's a more somber purpose to this gathering: They're building "ghost bikes."

Painted all white and adorned with colorful notes and flowers, ghost bikes are the cycling community's equivalent of roadside shrines dotting the highway; they mark the spot where a rider was killed in traffic.

Ryan Nuckle helped found New York City's Ghost Bike Project in 2005, after three cyclists died in a single month. "When a cyclist is killed, people feel close to that story, because you know it could be you," Nuckle says. "It could be someone you know, just as easily as it could be a stranger. So people look for a way to react and memorialize what happened. "

ghost ride the bike meaning

Ryan Nuckle helped found New York City's Ghost Bike Project in 2005, after three cyclists were killed in a single month. Nellie Large for NPR hide caption

Ryan Nuckle helped found New York City's Ghost Bike Project in 2005, after three cyclists were killed in a single month.

When the group created its first ghost bike, Nuckle says they hoped they would never have to make another one.

"And then we did, just within the span of a few weeks," Nuckle says. "Here we are, seven years later. But I think everyone here sees things changing and wants to be a part of moving that forward."

If you've never seen a ghost bike before, keep a lookout. There are more than 100 on New York City's street corners, and they've popped up in dozens of cities and 26 countries around the world.

Amanda Langworthy moved to New York City 2 1/2 years ago with her best friend, Jasmine. A few months later, Jasmine was stuck and killed while riding her bike at a busy intersection in Brooklyn.

"I mean, I guess Jasmine's funeral wasn't really very helpful for me," Langworthy says. "But we went to her bike and covered it in glitter. Someone brought a stereo and played Jasmine's favorite music, and we had this little mini-ceremony when we installed it."

Now, Langworthy is building a ghost bike for someone she's never met, but her thoughts still linger on her friend.

By late afternoon, eight bikes have been transformed, representing eight people who have died on New York's city streets.

Sully Ross and Matt Shock head out to install one, making their way through the rain from the subway stop toward the crash site on the far edge of Brooklyn.

"My understanding is that it actually took place sort of towards the middle of the road, next to that median," Ross says, pointing toward a five-way intersection sandwiched in between two cemeteries.

"The cyclist was sort of thrown off the bike, and ended up in the road, and a car hit the cyclist, and drove off," Ross says.

Ross chains the ghost bike to a stop sign, then bolts a simple plaque above it that reads, "Cyclist killed here. Rest in peace." He says he's set up ghost bikes about 20 times.

Motorists To Urban Planners: Stay In Your Lane

NPR Cities: Urban Life In The 21st Century

Motorists to urban planners: stay in your lane.

"If it's upsetting to do this, it would be so much more upsetting to not do this," Ross says. "I've witnessed crashes taking place, and I can't do anything to bring that person back. But this is a thing I can do to honor the memory of that person. So yeah, it feels like not enough, but I'd rather do this than do nothing.

Sully and Matt weave yellow and orange carnations and daisies through the bike's bare white spokes, then turn and head back toward the train.

White roadside memorial bicycle

A ghost bike is a bicycle that has been painted white and placed on the roadside at the site of a bike vs. motor vehicle crash. Most often, these bikes (and associated flowers and decorations) are memorials for a bicyclist who was killed in a crash.

In addition to memorializing hit cyclists, ghost bikes are used to remind motor vehicle drivers to slow down and remain bike-aware on narrow or otherwise-fraught roads. Sadly, ghost bikes themselves are often hit by inattentive drivers, showcasing exactly how dangerous some roads are for cyclists.

Origin of ghost bikes

The first ghost bikes appeared in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003. After seeing a bicyclist get hit in a bike lane on Holly Hills Boulevard, Patrick Van Der Tuin placed a ghost bike at the site of the collision. Van Der Tuin then placed several more ghost bikes throughout St. Louis, at sites of other crashes, which inspired ghost bike movements in other major cities.

A ghost bike pictured on Reddit

Related Slang

Ghost bike definition by slang.net.

This page explains what the slang term "Ghost bike" means. The definition, example, and related terms listed above have been written and compiled by the Slang.net team.

We are constantly updating our database with new slang terms, acronyms, and abbreviations. If you would like to suggest a term or an update to an existing one, please let us know !

ghost ride the bike meaning

Roadside Tribute: Remembering Lost Loved Ones

What is a White Ghost Bike Roadside Memorial?

Posted 05/19/2020 by Haseeb Maqsood

Ghost Bikes are Real and they are a Big Deal!!!

Yes please, what is this Ghost Bike that I have heard of.  Or more formally known as a Ghost Bike Roadside Memorial Tribute.  Very distinct as the Ghost Bike Memorial is painted ALL white and left at the accident location or very close to it.  This signifies that a very bad bicycle related accident happened here with sever injury or most likely death.  The message that the Ghost Bike Memorial puts off can be however you want to take it. However, in the end you get the message very clearly. It can be just  way to see it and recognize it to a Bicycle Memorial or Ghost Bike Memorial respecting the death site and or to give a loud and bold statement to be aware of citizens riding bicycles on the road and pay attention.  There are more reasons that they are set up and put up, but you get the point.  Also not to be confused with the German GHOST BIKE bicycle Company that makes top end branded Ghost Bikes.  Ghost Bike Memorials or just the bicycle themselves are also called a Ghost cycle or White Cycle.  In the end they are are representing the same thing.  Also often times the bike has a plaque or sign letting passers by know some of the details of the person and or accident.  Flowers and other supporting Ghost Bike memorial stuff is also decorating the Ghost Bike.

Somebody has died as a result of being on a bicycle on a roadway.  Same basis as a standard Roadside Memorial except this person lost their life or very seriously injured while riding or on a bicycle in some way by a motor vehicle.  The Ghost Bike used is usually not the actual bike that was involved in the accident but a donated or junk bike that somebody has painted all white to signify a Ghost Bike and then placed at the scene or very close location of the actual accident site.  Sometimes the tires are taken off so that nobody can ride away with the Ghost Bike.  Other times they ghost bike is locked up to something where it is located so that nobody steals it……god forbid.

How many Ghost Bike Memorials are out there in the USA and or the world.  Who knows and it would be hard to really know.  But Ghost Bikes are real and they do exist everywhere.  We do know that there does not seem to be any kind of government State sponsored programs specifically for Ghost Bike Memorials in the USA as this point.  We are lucky to have some of the regular Roadside Memorial State sponsored Programs that we do have in it’s limited capacity.  For more in depth info on Ghost Bike Memorials, check out the  Official Ghost Bikes Organization link here.

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How to Fix Ghost Pedaling? A Comprehensive Guide for Cyclists

How to fix ghost pedaling? As a cyclist , one of the most frustrating issues you can experience is ghost pedaling. Ghost pedaling occurs when your bike’s cranks spin on their own, even if you’re not pedaling.

This issue can be dangerous and annoying, but the good news is that it’s fixable. In this article, we’ll provide a step-by-step guide on fixing ghost pedaling so you can get back to enjoying your ride.

how to fix ghost pedaling

Table of Contents

How to Fix Ghost Pedaling?

To fix ghost pedaling, follow these steps:

  • Check the chain tension: Ensure that the chain is properly tensioned. If it is too loose, it can cause ghost pedaling. Adjust the tension by loosening the rear wheel nuts or quick-release lever, moving the wheel slightly forward, and then tightening the nuts or lever.
  • Inspect the chainring and chain: Examine the chainring and chain for any damage, wear, or misalignment. If there are any issues, replace the worn-out components and align them properly.
  • Lubricate the chain: A dry or dirty chain can contribute to ghost pedaling. Apply a suitable bicycle chain lubricant to ensure smooth movement.
  • Check the bottom bracket: Ghost pedaling can also occur due to a worn or faulty bottom bracket. Inspect the bottom bracket for any play or unusual movement. If necessary, replace it with a new one.
  • Examine the freewheel or cassette: Ghost pedaling can be caused by a worn or malfunctioning freewheel or cassette. Inspect these components for any damage or excessive wear. Replace them if needed.
  • Check the crankset: Make sure the crankset is securely attached and tightened to the bottom bracket spindle. Loose crank arms can cause ghost pedaling. Tighten the crankset bolts to the recommended torque specifications.
  • Seek professional assistance if needed: If the issue persists or you are unsure about performing the repairs yourself, it is advisable to take your bike to a professional bicycle mechanic who can diagnose and fix the problem accurately.

By following these steps, you can address ghost pedaling and ensure a smoother and more efficient riding experience.

Understanding Ghost Pedaling

Before we dive into fixing ghost pedaling, it’s important to understand what causes it. Ghost pedaling is typically caused by a malfunction in your bike’s freewheel mechanism.

The freewheel allows the rear wheel to spin freely when you’re not pedaling, but it engages when you pedal, allowing you to move forward.

When the freewheel malfunctions, it can cause the cranks to spin on their own, even if you’re not pedaling.

Diagnosing The Issue

The first step in fixing ghost pedaling is to diagnose the issue. Start by turning your bike upside down and spinning the pedals backward.

If the cranks spin freely, without any resistance, then the issue is likely with the freewheel mechanism. If the cranks don’t spin freely, then the issue may be with the bottom bracket or pedals.

Fixing the Issue

Once you’ve diagnosed the issue, it’s time to fix it. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to fix a ghost pedaling:

Step 1: Remove the Rear Wheel

To fix the freewheel mechanism, you’ll need to remove the rear wheel from your bike. Start by shifting the chain onto the smallest chainring and the largest cog.

Then, use a wrench to loosen the nuts or a quick-release skewer that holds the wheel in place. Remove the wheel from the frame.

Step 2: Remove the Freewheel

With the wheel removed, use a freewheel removal tool to remove the freewheel from the hub. The removal tool will fit into the splines on the freewheel and allow you to unscrew it from the hub.

Step 3: Clean and Lubricate the Freewheel

Once the freewheel is removed, clean it with a degreaser and a brush. Then, lubricate it with bike-specific lubricant. This should help to free up any stuck pawls and make the freewheel spin more smoothly.

Step 4: Reinstall the Freewheel

Once the freewheel is clean and lubricated, it’s time to reinstall it on the hub. Use the freewheel removal tool to screw it back onto the hub, making sure it’s tight.

Step 5: Reinstall the Wheel

With the freewheel reinstalled, it’s time to put the wheel back on your bike . Slide the axle back into the dropouts on the frame,

making sure it’s straight. Then, tighten the nuts or quick-release skewer to hold the wheel in place.

Step 6: Test Ride

Once the wheel is back on your bike, take it for a test ride to make sure the ghost pedaling issue is fixed. If the cranks no longer spin on their own, then you’re good to go.

If the issue persists, then you may need to replace the freewheel or take your bike to a professional for further diagnosis.

Preventing Ghost Pedaling

To prevent ghost pedaling from happening in the future, it’s important to take good care of your bike’s freewheel mechanism.

Here are some tips:

  • Clean and lubricate your freewheel regularly to prevent buildup and sticking
  • Avoid riding your bike in wet or muddy conditions, as this can cause dirt and debris to get into the freewheel mechanism.
  • Be careful when transporting your bike, as rough handling can damage the freewheel and cause it to malfunction.
  • Consider upgrading to a higher-quality freewheel if you’re experiencing frequent ghost-pedaling issues.

By following these tips, you can help prevent ghost pedaling from happening in the future and keep your bike running smoothly.

People also ask

How do you stop ghost-pedaling.

To stop ghost pedaling, you need to adjust or repair your bike’s freewheel or freehub mechanism.

Ghost pedaling occurs when your pedals keep turning even though you have stopped pedaling, which indicates that the freewheel or freehub is not disengaging properly.

A bike mechanic can help diagnose and fix the issue.

What causes ghost Pedalling?

Ghost pedaling is usually caused by a malfunctioning freewheel or freehub mechanism.

This can be due to wear and tear over time, lack of lubrication, or damage to the internal components.

When the freewheel or freehub fails to disengage properly, the pedals will continue to turn even if you stop pedaling, resulting in ghost pedaling.

What is ghost pedaling on a bike?

Ghost pedaling on a bike refers to the situation where the pedals continue to rotate even though the rider has stopped pedaling.

It can occur due to a malfunctioning freewheel or freehub mechanism, causing the pedals to turn with the motion of the bike.

This can be a frustrating and potentially dangerous issue as it can affect the rider’s balance and control of the bike.

Why do my pedals keep turning when I freewheel?

If your pedals keep turning when you freewheel, it is likely due to a problem with your bike’s freewheel or freehub mechanism.

These components are responsible for allowing the rear wheel to turn independently of the pedals when you stop pedaling.

When the freewheel or freehub mechanism fails to engage properly, it can cause the pedals to continue turning even when you are not actively pedaling.

This is known as ghost pedaling and can be a safety hazard. A bike mechanic can help diagnose and fix the issue.

Ghost pedaling can be a frustrating and dangerous issue for cyclists, but fortunately, it’s fixable. By diagnosing the issue and following the steps outlined in this article, you can get your bike back in working order and enjoy a smooth, ghost-pedal-free ride.

And by taking good care of your freewheel mechanism, you can help prevent this issue from happening in the future.

Kryi Lopr

Hi, I am a good bike rider & Guider I have many Experience in cycling and I will Share Knowledge About This Website and Solve Your Many Queries Thank You

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All of cycling information sources

Home » FAQ » Is It Rude To Ride A Ghost Bike

Is It Rude To Ride A Ghost Bike

What does ghost riding a bike mean.

Chico >> It’s called ghost riding: A person rides one bicycle while steering another, creating the appearance of a ghostly rider accompanying them while they travel.

What does a deserted white bike mean?

The all-white bikes, placed at locations of fatal crashes, serve as an infrastructure of grief—part memorial, part protest symbol—marking the individual lives lost and the remaining challenges that cities face as they aim to eliminate traffic fatalities altogether through Vision Zero plans.

Is riding your bike on path illegal?

Is there legislation for pavement cycling? The simple answer to this is yes. However, the interpretation is clear – it’s not legal for a cyclist to ride their bike on the pavement. The Highway Code also states: “You must not cycle on a pavement.”Mar 5, 2018.

Is riding a bike attractive?

In five out of six cases, members of the public dressed as motorcyclists were voted as more attractive than when dressed as drivers. The results showed that people who own a motorbike are viewed as adventurous by a third of the opposite sex (34%), closely followed by daring (28%) and fun (26%).

What does it mean to be called a Ghost Rider?

The Ghost Rider is a human who can transform into a skeletal superhuman wreathed in ethereal flame and given supernatural powers. Each Ghost Rider entity also had abilities specific to him or her. Johnny Blaze. Originally when Blaze transformed into Ghost Rider, his body changed but not the clothes he was wearing.

Can 2 people fit on a bike?

Is it dangerous to bike with 2 people? It can be, but you can be extra careful and avoid injuries. That’s used to also describe a bike specifically designed for two people to ride as well, with two seats, two sets of pedals etc. They’re longer than normal bikes, as you can imagine.

Are ghost bikes any good?

Is Ghost a Good Bike Brand? Yes, Ghost is a good bike brand. All of their bikes are built to last using high-quality materials and components. Ghost bikes are equipped with Shimano and SRAM groupsets which are known for their reliability.

Why do people put white bikes?

A ghost bike (also referred to as a ghostcycle or WhiteCycle) is a bicycle roadside memorial, placed where a cyclist has been killed or severely injured, usually by the driver of a motor vehicle. Apart from being a memorial, it is usually intended as a reminder to passing motorists to share the road.

Is Ghost an REI brand?

REI, a national outdoor gear and apparel retailer, and GHOST, manufacturer of high-performance German mountain bikes, are partnering to bring GHOST brand bicycles to the United States.

Can you ride a bike drunk?

Cycling under the influence of alcohol is never a good idea. It affects reaction times, causes inhibitions to disappear and can render you incapable of controlling a bicycle. Recent research has shown that intoxicated cyclists are 10 times more at risk of being injured in a cycling accident than sober cyclists.

Is cycling drunk illegal?

Is there a legal alcohol limit for cycling? If a Garda suspects you are cycling under the influence of alcohol or drugs to the point that you do not have proper control of the bike, you can be arrested without a warrant.

Is it against the law to ride a bike without lights?

It is illegal to cycle on a public road after dark without lights and reflectors. When you ride a bicycle in the dark, the law requires you have lights and reflectors; and the law is quite detailed as to what lights and what reflectors you use.

Which bike is best to impress a girl?

Best Bikes For Women Bajaj Avenger Cruise 220. 1,30,514 | Cruisers | 220 cc. KTM 390 Duke. 2,87,607 | Street | 373.2 cc. Suzuki Gixxer Fi. 1,20,046 | Street | 155 cc. TVS Apache RTR 200 4V. 1,29,004 | Street | 197.75 cc. KTM 125 Duke. Bajaj Pulsar NS160. Royal Enfield Himalayan. KTM 200 Duke.

Do you lose weight riding motorcycle?

Not only do you burn calories riding a motorcycle, but each ride can also give the majority of your muscles a workout. Switch to an hour on a motorcycle and an 11st (70kg) rider will get through at least 170 calories in the same time.

Does riding a motorcycle make you fit?

Riding takes effort, especially compared to driving in a car. Not only is it a physical and mental workout, but it increases your insulin sensitivity too, which helps your metabolism and will help you burn calories and store less fat. While burning these calories, you’re also gaining a full body workout.

Is Ghost Rider a good or bad guy?

Ghost Rider is the name of the fictional superhero and anti-hero from Marvel comics and its universe. The Ghost Rider is Zarathos, the spirit of vengeance who goes into host and battles against his archenemy Mephisto and punishes evil when around it.

Is Ghost Rider an angel?

In the 2012 film Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, the Ghost Rider is revealed to be an incarnation of Zarathos himself. In this version as told by the monk Moreau, Zarathos was an Angel of Justice sent to protect humanity. He was tricked by the Devil to fall into Hell, where he was corrupted and driven insane.

Is Ghost Rider a hero or a villain?

Ghost Rider (Jonathan “Johnny” Blaze) is a demonic superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.

What is it called when you give someone a ride on your bike?

Contributor’s comments: To give someone a ride on your bike by letting him/her sit on the bar. We always “dinked” or “double dinked” on our bikes. Contributor’s comments: In SA we also used “dink” or “dinky” or “donkey”.

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Houston Chronicle

Houston Chronicle

Houston Ghost Bike Ride remembers cyclists who have died with city-wide route

Posted: October 27, 2023 | Last updated: October 27, 2023

BikeHouston, an advocacy group for pedestrians and cyclists, is holding a Ghost Bike Ride that will visit the crash sites of those who have died while riding bikes in the city.

The organization is expecting a few dozens to attend the ride around the city Friday, visiting  crash sites and talking about each killed cyclist . The Ghost Ride comes after more than  15 cyclists died in Houston while riding a bike this year , according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

The ride will start at 9 a.m. at EaDough on Polk Street, before heading to each of the stops over the 12-mile journey.

The ride is not an advocacy event, but a way to honor killed cyclists close to Dia de Los Muertos,  said BikeHouston Policy and Advocacy Director Kristina Ronneberg.

The goal is to make the deaths more personal while picking up trash and adding decorations to the ghost bikes.  Harris County has seen 23 cyclist deaths this year , according to the Texas Department of Transportation

"There's a lot of grief and emotion that's around this," Ronneberg said. "A big reason that we have our advocate base and group is for processing the emotions. I mean, people get really upset, and tearful on a weekly basis."

HOUSTON BICYCLISTS:  here's why a safety rule isn't being enforced

BikeHouston is also working to point out how structural differences could mean the difference between life and death for cyclists. Ronneberg said the group is hoping to see additional raised crosswalks throughout the city and more bulb-out curbs to narrow streets and force cars to drive slower.

Poor infrastructure is the main reason BikeHouston refuses to call cyclist deaths "accidents."

"We try to get away from laying culpability and responsibility on the individual, whether it's the individual car driver or motorcyclist. It's all about building a system of culture, engineering streets so that people don't make the mistake of hitting someone else," she said. "Everything can be designed to be different."

Bikers will also visit White Oak Bayou, where 33-year-old Matthew Ledvina died in March after running into construction netting.

The group will hold a vigil for killed cyclists Nov. 19 at City Hall for the World Day of Remembrance.

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riding bike through multiple environments

My 92-Mile New York City Farewell Ride

Like many, I was escaping. Riding away from lockdown and the impossibility of keeping a six-foot distance from the millions of people crammed into the city.

Headshot of Rosael Torres-Davis

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As I entered the pages of old-money family histories, I felt cocooned inside the coolness of luscious shadows, the charcoals, browns, and deep greens of tree-lined roads built for much smaller cars once upon a time. Where, today, rich men take out their convertibles for leisurely Sunday roller-coaster rides as if nothing has changed. The mansions and lavish states remain, in states of restoration or decay, with climbing ivy curlicuing up their gates, providing a softer layer of shelter. Downhearted and distraught, I rode. I was trying to avoid the sight of other tragedies—ongoing ones. Meanwhile, in this part of the woods, the grass was greener, and golf courses and country clubs remained lavish and lively despite recommendations of the CDC.

Like many, I was escaping. Riding away from lockdown and the impossibility of keeping a six-foot distance from the millions of people crammed into the city. On those rides, I would stop at a farm-to-table bakery for its tasty pastries and friendly chickens digging holes under the shade of a tree. It was the beginning of summer , after all, and nothing felt cooler than a fistful of dirt. I, too, wanted to dig a hole and rub my face against the cool and soft soil. And what if I moved to the country and bought a disheveled bed and breakfast? I could realize my dream of caring for chickens and goats. I could wear an apron and bake. Spend hours on my knees, thinning sprouting crops and munching the day away. I could rent out cottages to tourists and couples also looking to be somewhere else.

Escape. We all wanted it. And bingeing Netflix quickly became a bore. So we took to bread making, watercolor painting, kite making, picking up trash, and clapping from our balconies and windows at six o’clock—a standing ovation for the nurses and doctors. The EMTs. The teachers. Even though they all deserved a lot more than our applause and cheers.

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Riding west, toward Route 9W and River Road, meant I had to cross through Randall’s Island and Manhattan, where large white containers stood burning the green grass fields where concerts and raves had attracted the living en masse not that long ago. Where people would elevate their heart rates , dance, sweat, and perspire until they had only enough energy for the walk home. Then, it was limbo. Where walkers, runners, cyclists, the lost, and unburied passed their time that summer of 2020 that now feels like a century ago. It was our turn to come up against a terrible and unthinkable event. The kind you read about but never think would happen in your time.

The last few times I rode through Randall’s, going over the bridge, weaving between the gardens and sports fields, I wondered if my friend’s husband was inside one of those white boxes. His six-foot-something body lying in the air-conditioned staleness of the shoebox-shaped morgues. Matteo De Cosmos was his name. The name of an intergalactic prince. But in real life, a talented art director, a charming and husky Italian living in NYC, who suffered for an unfair amount of time in the hospital before leaving us. I did not know him well enough to justify the sorrow I felt when I heard the news, but I still think of him often.

My last memory of Matteo comes from a dinner party at a mutual friend’s place in Flatbush, Brooklyn. I had often looked to annoyingly squeeze the Italian I’d learned in college into our conversations, which, that night, I managed to do in a way that seemed almost organic. Agreeing with something Matteo said, I singingly responded, “Chiaro!” Meaning “clearly,” or “of course.” I made Matteo laugh so hard that it was worth the years of embarrassing myself. He repeated the phrase with cheerful intonation and squinted his eyes as he laughed. He said it reminded him of how his friends talked back in Puglia, Italy , his home. I felt like I won a medal that night. Only to realize that months later, we would all lose a trophy of a man.

I would like to say that living felt impossible back then, but what an insult that would be to those who didn’t make it. So, like many, while I mourned the loss of normalcy, I also tried to learn new things and become better at others.

Along with the rest of the world, I learned how to pass the time. I made my first Mark Bittman’s focaccia. I, very unsuccessfully, raced my bike on Zwift . (There is such a thing as a virtual mechanical .) I painted a watercolor of Peter Sagan in his rainbow jersey (which is terrible) and sewed up a cycling cap from an old pair of floral-printed jeans.

Most notably, I picked up the dried but still bendy palm-leaf stems that Dad had given me years ago and that had been standing, along with pencils and markers, on my drawing desk. I also took out some tissue paper, Elmer’s glue, and a spool of string from inside a drawer, purposely waiting. With those few items, I made kites to keep our spirits afloat. I used the palm-leaf stems to make frames softly tied at the junctions by the string, with more of it connecting each tip to fill the gaps and creating a hexagonal shape. I glued on the paper, folding the edges over the string like bed sheets over a clothing line. And lastly, I made tails for them out of fabric scraps and hung the kites from my bedroom ceiling. Whimsy in lockdown. I posted pictures of them to Instagram (along with videos of my push-up challenge and a squatting workout with cinder blocks). Even when many days ended in tears of grief and fear, it felt nice to have the time for such things.

And the time available for riding bikes seemed endless. Those long bike rides weaving through the North Shore smelled and tasted like home—salty and fishy. This was a welcome change from the stale crossing of the Hudson River via the George Washington Bridge on the other side of the city. The sea breeze of the Long Island Sound felt delightful, and I wished I could ride with my eyes closed and trust the rest of my senses to steer me back home. Even when it stunk of rotting fish. But all of life stunk anyway.

By the time July arrived, I had already made the decision to leave. I rounded up my nine and a half years to ten, and that felt like enough. And so, I gave myself permission to move on. I had been laid off from work and couldn’t afford rent anyway.

For many fair and sound reasons, I couldn’t act out a proper goodbye to my friends, whether they were still here or gone. Never had I ever craved so much the warm consolation of a funeral gathering. Where we could work through our sorrow over a cup of coffee and rainbow cookies. And while we all had lost so much, it was the case that manifestations of grief and mourning were strictly prohibited. But I could at least ride the bike for one last lap around the city and say goodbye to everything else.

New York City, despite its awful cycling infrastructure , despite a sinking velodrome, despite the trash miles polluted by traffic lights and tourists, was a great place to fall in love with riding and racing bikes. So after I was done stretching myself east and west, I put together a route that linked all the places I had learned to draft , sprint , climb , and breakaway —I named it simply Tour of NYC.

On an early Sunday morning, I woke up somewhat excited for a change and kitted up with all I needed. From Astoria, I dove down for a lap in Prospect Park, continuing to cross Brooklyn north to south to reach one of the farthest points in the route: Floyd Bennett Field, where (before everything went quiet) on weekday evenings, road racers would bomb Flatbush Avenue on their way to race the infamous trapeze-shaped course that used to be an airport runway. When I got there, the entrance was gated, but the gap between the gate and the concrete was just wide enough for me to slide under and do a lap of the course.

Then, I headed northeast to the Kissena Velodrome in Queens, where I had learned about speed and beautiful lines. Then into the city, via the limbo of Randall’s Island, to reach the farthest point north, Orchard Beach in the Bronx. There, I stood on the promenade facing the hazy stretch of Long Island Sound that concealed the West and East Eggs on the other side. Realizing I was more than halfway through the ride, I slowed down, trying to match the pace of a long summer day. I continued on to Marcus Garvey Park, Grant’s Tomb Memorial, and lastly, Central Park, bright and animated as ever.

When I got back to Astoria, the sky was beginning to turn orange and red. My Garmin computer read 92 miles, and the ride felt complete. I thought of riding another eight, but couldn’t find a good reason to. I came back home, sat under a hot shower, ate some dinner, and went to bed. The sun fell slowly, and the shadows of cardboard moving boxes cluttered my bedroom. The floor fan was on, oscillating from side to side, blowing a soft wind on the kites hanging above and making their knotted tails swish and swoosh against the window. I spaced out, staring at them for a little while. Then night came, as always overshadowed by the lights of a sleepless city. And though I couldn’t see the harmony of the cosmos and the world remained senseless and out of order, that night, I felt whole. Nine years and six months of highs and lows. A ninety-two-mile farewell. It was enough.

Rosael Torres-Davis is a Features Editor for Bicycling and a curious and passionate cyclist. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States at the age of 21. She rode a black-and-blue Focus Izalco road bike during the rides described in this essay. The things she misses the most about New York City are bodega cats and the Greek bakeries and restaurants of Astoria, Queens.

Headshot of Rosael Torres-Davis

Rosael is a features writer and editor based in Philadelphia (Lenape land), where she enjoys the city’s obsession with sports and its accessible trail systems and cycling community. She has a bachelor’s in Communications and Journalism from the University of Puerto Rico and her writing and editing focuses in creative non-fiction. Her writing style is characterized by vivid descriptions, thoughtful reflections, and expressive narratives that highlight human experiences within the world of cycling. 

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It's Important That We All Watch This Trailer For Ghost Bike

''ride the ghost bike to the afterlife, and save the lost souls of wheel world'.

This is Ghost Bike , a new game announced earlier today. It’s being developed by Messhof (Nidhogg), and will be published by Annapurna. As the headline says, I think it’s important we all sit down and watch this.

I mean, I’ve already watched it. A few times. But I’ll watch it again, now, with you, because why not. I could watch it all day.

Argh. It’s beautiful. I will play this when it’s out, but I could also just watch this trailer a bunch more times, or even just watch other people play it, and be almost as happy.

As the trailer suggests it’s primarily a racing game, though one with a narrative point:

Ghost Bike puts players in the shoes of a streetwise kid from Freehub City on a mission to revive the last of the Ghost Bikes, the magical couriers who rode between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Ride the Ghost Bike to the afterlife, and save the lost souls of Wheel World. Abandoned and forgotten, the Ghost Bike needs repair. Bikes need maintenance, and this one is on its last link! Beat ghosts in contests of speed and skill to win back Ghost power. Only then can you make the journey to the afterworld, and return the true spirit of biking back to Wheel World.

Ghost Bike has a “beautifully stylized semi-open world”, which will let you take on these races “at your own pace”, and one of the press release’s most appealing bullet points is that the game also features “general tomfoolery”.

Also nice to see, for those who are very into bikes and rightfully feel they’re not as well-represented in games as they could be, is that the game is embracing the whole bicycle lifestyle/culture thing, saying it will feature “bespoke spokemakers, radical roadies, troublesome tourists, badass BMX’ers, fanatical fans, super fun stunts, intrigue, adventure, and more!”

Ghost Bike is coming out on Xbox, PlayStation and Steam in 2024.

IMAGES

  1. Worlds Longest Ghost Ride On a bicycle

    ghost ride the bike meaning

  2. Ghost Rider built by Movie Bikes of U.S.A

    ghost ride the bike meaning

  3. 1280x1024 Ghost Rider In Bike 1280x1024 Resolution HD 4k Wallpapers

    ghost ride the bike meaning

  4. ghost riding bikes

    ghost ride the bike meaning

  5. Ghost Rider On Bike Artwork

    ghost ride the bike meaning

  6. Ghost Rider built by Movie Bikes of U.S.A

    ghost ride the bike meaning

VIDEO

  1. ghost rider bike me ride #viral #YouTube #indianbikedriving3d

  2. ghost bike , ☠️🤯👽🙀🙀

  3. ghost bike 😱

  4. Ghost Rider on a quad bike 👻

  5. ghost ride 🚴 bicycle #cycling #trendingshorts #raghav

  6. Spooky Spectacle: Ghost-Riding Bike Takes the Wheel for 30 Unbelievable Seconds

COMMENTS

  1. Ghost riding

    Ghost riding, frequently used in the context of " ghost riding the whip " (a "whip" being a vehicle) or simply ghostin', is when a person exits their moving vehicle, and dances beside and around it. American rapper E-40 's 2006 song "Tell Me When to Go" produced by Lil Jon brought mainstream attention to "ghost riding".

  2. Ghost bike

    A ghost bike (also referred to as a ghostcycle or WhiteCycle) is a bicycle roadside memorial, placed where a cyclist has been killed or severely injured, usually by the driver of a motor vehicle. [1] Apart from being a memorial, it is usually intended as a reminder to passing motorists to share the road.

  3. What Does Ghost Bike Mean?

    The term ghost bike refers to a white-painted bicycle that is placed on the side of the road at the location of a collision between a bicycle and a motor vehicle. These bikes serve as memorials for cyclists who have been killed in accidents. They also serve as a reminder to drivers to be cautious and mindful of cyclists on the road.

  4. Urban Dictionary: Ghostride the bike

    Urban Dictionary: Ghostride the bike Ghostride the bike Similar to ghostriding the whip although with a bike instead of a car. It can mean to ride a bike and then jump off and go dumb along side of it while it is still going by itself, or to stand on it or sit on it wrong or get hyphy on it while it is still going.

  5. The story of "ghost bikes": How a bike memorial in St ...

    For those who haven't seen one: A ghost bike is a memorial for a bicyclist who was either killed or seriously hit while riding. The bike is typically put up at or near the site of the...

  6. Do You Know What a "Ghost Bike", a "Ghost Ride" or A "Ride of Silence

    The tragic background for all of these terms relates to the occurrence of a bicyclist killed on the road, usually by a motor vehicle. The concept begins when a "ghost bike", usually an old well used bicycle is painted white, is set up off the road as a memorial to the cyclist. There is one mauka the

  7. Urban Dictionary: ghost ride

    To "ghost ride" or "ghost riding" is when a driver places his car in neutral, or cruises at a low speed approx. 5-10 mph everyone in the vehicle opens all the doors and walks along side the car, steps on the hood or the roof of the car while dancing to heart pounding rap music.

  8. How To Ghost Ride Bicycle

    Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do it:1. Start by riding your bicycle at a slow speed. You don't want to be going too fast when you first start out or you may end up losing control and crashing.2. Once you've got a feel for the bike and are comfortable riding at a slow speed start to increase your speed gradually.3.

  9. Ghost Bikes: A Global Ritual to Memorialize and Protest Cycling Deaths

    A week after Long's death, more than 100 bicyclists joined in a silent memorial ride during rush hour. His ghost bike marked the final destination, where cyclists gathered to lay down their bikes. They stood silently for about 20 minutes. Some cried as Long's friends left pictures and notes by the white bike.

  10. Memorials for Cyclists

    Step One: Wait for Someone to Die In most U.S. cities, you do not have to wait long for someone to die. In New York City, the dead arrive once or twice a month, year after year. The year we built...

  11. Where Cyclists Once Rode, Ghost Bikes Stand Vigil : NPR

    A ghost bike memorializes an unknown cyclist killed while riding in Brooklyn, N.Y. Nellie Large for NPR. On a muggy summer afternoon in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, a dozen people are hard at work on the ...

  12. Question: What Is The Term Ghost Riding

    Ghost riding, frequently used in the context of "ghost riding the whip" (a "whip" being a vehicle) or simply ghostin', is when a person exits their moving vehicle, and dances beside and around it. Ghost riding is performed by exiting an automobile while it is left in gear. What does ghost riding a bike mean?

  13. The White Bicycle on the Side of the Road Has a More Touching Meaning

    While many people understand that these "ghost bikes" are meant as a marker, not everyone knows what they're for or how the tragic makers came to be. A white ghost bike - White painted bike that does not ride - but remember. |Horst Galuschka/picture alliance via Getty Images What does a white bicycle on the side of the road mean?

  14. Ghost Bike

    A ghost bike is a bicycle that has been painted white and placed on the roadside at the site of a bike vs. motor vehicle crash. Most often, these bikes (and associated flowers and decorations) are memorials for a bicyclist who was killed in a crash. In addition to memorializing hit cyclists, ghost bikes are used to remind motor vehicle drivers ...

  15. The Tragic Meaning Behind Ghost Bikes

    En Español The Tragic Meaning Behind Ghost Bikes On Behalf of Cohen Law Partners | Jul 10, 2020 | Bicycle Accidents | Their first documented appearance was in 2003. It served as both a symbol and reminder of the dangers bicyclists face when sharing the road with more powerful forms of transport.

  16. The Illuminating Power of Ghost Bikes

    Though the bikes are donated, Navarro spends $60 to $75 to transform each into a ghost bike. He buys the paint and the flowers, and adds a lock to prevent theft. It takes him just over two hours ...

  17. What is a White Ghost Bike Roadside Memorial?

    The Ghost Bike used is usually not the actual bike that was involved in the accident but a donated or junk bike that somebody has painted all white to signify a Ghost Bike and then placed at the scene or very close location of the actual accident site. Sometimes the tires are taken off so that nobody can ride away with the Ghost Bike.

  18. How To Ghost Ride A Bike

    How to Ghostride a Bike Step 1: One Hand Riding. practice riding your bike with just one hand. Step 3: Line Up the Bikes. line up the two bikes next to each other. Step 4: Holding the 2nd Bike. with your free hand, hold the second bike right on the stem or at the exact center of the handlebar. Step 5: Start Riding.

  19. How to Fix Ghost Pedaling? A Comprehensive Guide Cyclists

    Ghost pedaling occurs when your bike's cranks spin on their own, even if you're not pedaling. This issue can be dangerous and annoying, but the good news is that it's fixable. In this article, we'll provide a step-by-step guide on fixing ghost pedaling so you can get back to enjoying your ride. how to fix ghost pedaling Table of Contents

  20. What Is Ghost Riding The Whip

    Chico >> It's called ghost riding: A person rides one bicycle while steering another, creating the appearance of a ghostly rider accompanying them while they travel. How do you ghost ride a motorcycle? How to Ghostride a Bike Step 1: One Hand Riding. practice riding your bike with just one hand.

  21. Is It Rude To Ride A Ghost Bike

    What does a deserted white bike mean? The all-white bikes, placed at locations of fatal crashes, serve as an infrastructure of grief—part memorial, part protest symbol—marking the individual lives lost and the remaining challenges that cities face as they aim to eliminate traffic fatalities altogether through Vision Zero plans.

  22. Houston Ghost Bike Ride remembers cyclists who have died with ...

    The Ghost Ride comes after more than 15 cyclists died in Houston while riding a bike this year, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. The ride will start at 9 a.m. at EaDough on ...

  23. My 92-Mile New York City Farewell Ride

    A ninety-two-mile farewell. It was enough. Rosael Torres-Davis is a Features Editor for Bicycling and a curious and passionate cyclist. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and moved to the ...

  24. It's Important That We All Watch This Trailer For Ghost Bike

    Ghost Bike puts players in the shoes of a streetwise kid from Freehub City on a mission to revive the last of the Ghost Bikes, the magical couriers who rode between the world of the living...